The European Commission has adopted plans to cut in half the number of gasoline and diesel-powered cars from city centers by 2030 and completely phase them out by 2050. An article by Tyler Falk has full details here

Mark Shea in the National Catholic Register has penned an article titled Despise Not Prophesying which deals with private revelations in the Church. In it he takes a few side swipes at Medjugorje. He states that:

I think Medjugorje has all the earmarks of a load of bushwah

No real evidence is adduced for this statement. Now perhaps Mark Shea might consider reading such books as:

(1) Full of Graceby Christine Watkins
(2) Medjugorje Whats Happeningby James Mulligan
(3) Medjugorje Investigatedby Michael Kenneth Jones.
(4) Medjugorje: The Messageby Wayne Weible
Sr. Briege McKenna's bestseller,Miracles Do Happen, contains a special section about Međugorje. In it she states that while praying the Rosary one morning in Ireland she heard the voice of the Blessed Mother saying: "You must go to Međugorje and there I will give you a message for my priests." She obtained permission from her mother superior and went to Međugorje on the Feast of Corpus Christi. While in Međugorje, she "witnessed a tremendous sense of Mary's presence and her purity in the young people, particularly in those who belong to the prayer group.Our Lady told the visionaries to organize."
Sr Briege along with Father Kevin Scallon has a world wide healing ministry for priests and laity.
Mark Shea might also consider the following:
Fr. Gabriele Amorth,the chief exorcist of Rome and the author of the international bestseller, An Exorcist Tells His Story, has stated: "Međugorje is a fortress against Satan. Satan hates Međugorje."

Irish movie star Sarah Bolger is really cool. She has just turned 20, and is too young yet to “have it all”, but she sure has packed a lot into
her short life so far. And none of it has gone to her head.

I’ve watched a few TV interviews that Sarah did and she comes across as very friendly, happy and pleasant and with her feet solidly on the ground.

She plays Princess Mary in the TV drama, The Tudors, and starred as Mallory Grace in the movie The Spiderwick Chronicles. But it was her role in the film In America, when she was only 10, that first won her international attention.

Recently she was the cover girl for Life magazine, with a fashion photo-shoot and a long interview. But what really surprised interviewer Barry Egan, for some reason, was Sarah’s religious side. Grandparents Having herself introduced the subject of her Catholic faith, she gave the credit mainly to her grandparents on her mother’s side, recalling that she prayed every single night after they died.

“They were very religious,” she said. “I just wanted to be a part of it, and after a while I
decided that going to Mass was something I wanted to be involved in.” She goes to the 10.30 Mass every Sunday morning in Rathfarnham, and doesn’t miss Mass even when she is away from home.

To illustrate the point, she said: “I just finished filming in Montreal, and I still went to
Mass every Sunday.” More surprising, perhaps, is the fact that she has been a Minister of Holy Communion since she was 17. “For some reason I decided this is what I want to do, and I have kept it up,” she reflected.

And she explained: “I have blessed hands. I got my hands blessed by the priest and I amable to give out Holy Communion at Mass. It is lovely to be part of it.” I guess that even at this stage Sarah Bolger realises there is no point in “having it all” if you don’t have Jesus, the greatest treasure of all, in the centre of your life. And it is grasping that that makes her,and each one of us, a true star.
(source: Article by Anne Nolan in Alive Newspaper

The 03/11/2011 earthquake (preliminary magnitude 8.9) near the east coast of Honshu, Japan, occurred as a result of thrust faulting on or near the subduction zone interface plate boundary between the Pacific and North America plates. At the latitude of this earthquake, the Pacific plate moves approximately westwards with respect to the North America plate at a velocity of 83 mm/yr. The Pacific plate thrusts underneath Japan at the Japan Trench, and dips to the west beneath Eurasia. The location, depth, and focal mechanism of the March 11 earthquake are consistent with the event having occurred as thrust faulting associated with subduction along this plate boundary. Note that some authors divide this region into several microplates that together define the relative motions between the larger Pacific, North America and Eurasia plates; these include the Okhotsk and Amur microplates that are respectively part of North America and Eurasia.

The March 11 earthquake was preceded by a series of large foreshocks over the previous two days, beginning on March 9th with an M 7.2 event approximately 40 km from the March 11 earthquake, and continuing with a further 3 earthquakes greater than M 6 on the same day.

The Japan Trench subduction zone has hosted 9 events of magnitude 7 or greater since 1973. The largest of these was an M 7.8 earthquake approximately 260 km to the north of the March 11 event, in December 1994, which caused 3 fatalities and almost 700 injuries. In June of 1978, an M 7.7 earthquake 35 km to the southwest caused 22 fatalities and over 400 injuries. (Source:USGS)

Willie Penrose is 'super junior minister' at Environment with responsibility for housing and planning

Paul Kehoe-Government Chief Whip.

Ten of the 15 were either senior or junior ministers in the Rainbow Government of 1994.
Fine Gael's Seán Barrett was elected as the new Ceann Comhairle.
Máire Whelan has been appointed AG.

All in all this is an experienced and mature line up with a lot of heavy hitters. Ruairi Quinn, Joan Burton and Brendan Howlin have served in both FF/Lab and Rainbow coalitions in one capacity or another. Pat Rabbitte was a Minister for State in the Rainbow coalition. One surprise was the appointment of Brendan Howlin as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. It had been anticipated that Joan Burton would secure that portfolio. Phil Hogan, Richard Bruton, Jimmy Deenihan, Michael Noonan, and Enda Kenny have ministerial experience at either senior or junior level.

There is a logical restructuring of some ministries. Foreign Affairs and Trade certainly go hand and hand. The creation of Public Expenditure and Reform is long overdue and will dovetail nicely with Finance. Environment, Community and Local Government are certainly interlinked. Similarly the linking of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs makes sense as all are essentially cultural. Looking at Transport, Tourism and Sport it can be argued that sport is out of place. Nevertheless Transport and Tourism go hand and hand. The creation of a Minister for Children is long overdue.
Justice, Equality and Defence may raise some eyebrows. Alan Shatter will certainly have his work cut out for him.

Fergus O'Dowd, Charlie Flanagan, Brian Hayes, David Stanton amongst others will feel unlucky to have been omitted. But unfortunately for them FG has only ten cabinet positions. They will surely figure as Ministers for State
Similarly Roisin Shorthall and Jan O'Sullivan for Labour are likely to secure positions as Ministers for State.

Nine ministers come from Dublin constituencies so it is likely that geography will play some role in the allocation of junior ministries.
Two members of cabinet are women whilst the new attorney general is also a woman. This may also impinge on the selection of junior ministers.

Today FG leader Enda Kenny was elected Taoiseach. He was proposed by 24 year old newly elected FG TD Simon Harris. The Harris speech was highly apposite for the occasion. He was seconded by newly elected Labour TD Ciara Conway. Once more the speech was highly appropriate.
FF leader Micheal Martin announced that FF would not oppose the election of Enda Kenny. His speech was conciliatory.

However the same cannot be said for the contributions of, Joe Higgins Gerry Adams and Richard Boyd Barrett. Their speeches were laced with venom and completely out of place on a day like today.
Joe Higgins is of course right to attack the IMF/EU deal.However he engaged in a Marxist-Leninist rant. He seems blistfully unaware that Marxist Leninism failed abysmally in the old USSR and Eastern Europe. Some of his prescriptions reek of crackpot economics. It is all very fine to speak about the Socialist James Connolly who was executed after the 1916 rising. However this is 2011. Of course the IMF/EU deal must be renegotiated. However there is also a €19 billion deficit in the public finances. This gap must be plugged over a 4/5 year period. Sadly some of the measures will be very painful for most people. But there is no alternative. Renegotiation of the IMF/EU deal MUST result in large concessions to Ireland. Otherwise a default looms within two years.
Gerry Adams and Richard Boyd Barrett engaged in a similar attack on the new government.

It is time for Higgins, Adams and Boyd Barrett to wake up. Ireland to quote Ruairi Quinn is in receivership. There are no soft options.
Higgins, Adams and Boyd Barrett wish to be all things to all men with a view to securing electoral gain.
It was interesting to listen to the contribution of Shane Ross in his maiden speech. Whilst supporting Kenny he was highly critical of the new programme for government.Possibly some sack cloth and ashes may be appropriate for Shane also. Shane waxed lyrical about the tax cutting policies of people such as Charlie McCreevy. Now of course he is correct to stress that the new government must tackle the IMF/EU deal head on. Of course Irish taxpayers should not be landed with the burden of banking debt. It is all very fine to run a referendum on the IMF/EU deal. However the new government has little time to devote to this. It must immediately set about mending fences with Europe. It is in Europes interests to slash the interest rates and extend the repayment period to 15 years. Such a concession would give the economy a chance to recover.

The snarling from the hard left today leaves a sour taste. These elements have failed to come up with WORKABLE policies. They constantly opt for the soft option. They are AGAINST everything. They are doing this country a disservice. The hard left is determined to make its mark. Policies advocated by the hard left would result in the inability of the state to fund the public service and social welfare. This is something for public servants and social welfare recipients to contemplate. It is time for hard left elements to eschew cloud cuckoo economics. Dont hold your breath. Gerry Adams is opposed to cuts in the South. Yet Sinn Fein is in government north of the border and is implementing swingeing cuts. I rest my case.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Our Ladys Message to Mirjana

"Dear children; My motherly heart suffers tremendously as I look at my children who persistently put what is human before what is of God; at my children who, despite everything that surrounds them and despite all the signs that are sent to them, think that they can walk without my Son. They cannot! They are walking to eternal perdition. That is why I am gathering you, who are ready to open your heart to me, you who are ready to be apostles of my love, to help me; so that by living God's love you may be an example to those who do not know it. May fasting and prayer give you strength in that and I bless you with motherly blessing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Thank you."

HeraldScotland newspaper has an excellent article titled Face to Face: Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, founder of the charity Mary's Meals. In it he speaks about a life-changing experience he had as a teenager. “When I was 14, my siblings and friends went to a place called Medjugorje in Bosnia. The influence of Medjugorje on him is detailed in several paragraphs buried in the heart of the article. It may be accessed here

About Me

This blog will deal primarily with Irish and International political issues. I have long believed that the greater the diversity of comment the stronger our democracy. On occasions analysis may be quite trenchant. I also intend to range over diverse cultural strands of Irish and world society. Sports such as Hurling and Rugby Union -primarily but not exclusively-will feature from time to time.
Other issues -that take my fancy- will surface.